Leasing-Only vs Full-Service Property Management in Sacramento

Some Sacramento owners want help finding a tenant and plan to manage the property themselves. Others want a property manager to handle the rental from move-in through every renewal.

Alpha Property Management offers both. This post explains what each option includes and what it costs, so you can choose the one that fits your property.

What Our Leasing Only Service Covers

Our Leasing Only Service is designed for owners who prefer to manage their property themselves but want professional help finding and placing a qualified tenant. We handle the leasing process from marketing through move-in, and you keep responsibility for ongoing management.

The Leasing Only Service includes:

• Marketing and advertising of your property
• Property showings for interested applicants
• A comprehensive tenant screening
• Preparation of the residential lease
• A written move-in condition report with digital photographs
• Collection of the security deposit
• Collection of the initial rent payment

The fee is a one-time lease-up fee of half of the first month's rent. After move-in, maintenance, repairs, accounting, renewals, and tenant matters are yours to handle. Our typical tenant placement timeline of approximately *10 days does not apply to the Leasing Only Service, and the 1-year tenant guarantee applies only to full-service management.

Every applicant completes an application at their own expense, $51 per adult applicant. We verify credit history, income and employment, rental history and references, and background information.

What Full-Service Property Management Covers

Full-service management includes everything in the Leasing Only Service, plus ongoing management of the property:

• Rent collection with monthly owner statements
• Maintenance coordination through our Sacramento vendor network
• 24/7 emergency maintenance response
• Lease renewals and tenant notices
• Eviction support
• Move-out inspections and re-marketing
• 24/7 access to the owner portal for reports and maintenance history
• Optional annual inspection with a photo report, $125 per year

Management is $99 per month for a single-family home, $125 for a duplex, and $225 for a fourplex. Separate costs may include the lease-up fee, a 5% maintenance markup, and the $125 annual inspection. Full-service runs on a straightforward 12-month management agreement.

Full-service also carries our 1-year tenant guarantee. If a tenant we've placed in a property under our full-service management contract breaks their lease within the first year, we will place the next tenant with no additional lease-up fee. Normal cleaning, repair and vacancy costs still apply.

Which Option Fits Your Rental

The main difference is who handles the property after move-in. With the Leasing Only Service, the day-to-day work is yours. With full-service management, Alpha handles rent collection, maintenance, renewals, and tenant communication for you.

The Leasing Only Service may fit if you live near the property, own one or two rentals, have reliable vendors of your own, and have time during business hours to answer tenant calls and coordinate repairs.

Full-service management may fit if you live outside the area, own several rentals, have a demanding schedule, or would like help with maintenance and day-to-day tenant issues. We work with many absentee and long-distance owners.

Moving From Leasing-Only to Full-Service

Many owners start with leasing-only and move to full-service management later. Either way, marketing and advertising costs are covered by Alpha and are not billed separately. You can compare both options on our leasing services and residential property management pages, and see every fee on our pricing and fees page.

Talk Through Your Situation

Alpha Property Management has served owners for more than 25 years throughout Sacramento and Placer counties, including Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, and Rancho Cordova. Tell us where the property is, how many rentals you own, and how involved you want to be, and we will help you decide which option fits.

Contact Alpha Property Management or call Sally LaBate, Broker, at (916) 596-1665. You can also review our owner services or browse current rental listings.